by Bethe

Mother’s Day Letter to Wrenn

Dear Baby Girl,

Yesterday was my first Mother’s Day… and it was because of you that I got that huge honor. You see, little Wrenn, it is the biggest honor of my life to be your mama. To carry you in my belly. To feel you kick from the inside – it’s like our own little secret that nobody else knows. I treasure those moments and look forward to them every single day.

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Baby girl, I prayed for you before I ever met your daddy. I prayed so many nights that God would give me a baby of my own someday. And that someday is here and He has given me you. Once I married your daddy, we prayed together that God would bless us with a baby. Before you were ever here, I longed for you and cried for you and waited and waited and waited for you.

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I cannot wait to meet you in two short months. There is so much to do before you arrive, but more than anything I can’t wait for that first moment when I get to see you, and meet you, and hold you against my chest and revel in the joy of being your mama.

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Your daddy spoiled me on my first Mother’s Day. I woke up to a gorgeous breakfast – you know your daddy doesn’t just cook – he makes every meal an event. He gave me a body pillow (such a comfort for this tired pregnant body) and a prenatal massage and one of his famously sweet love notes. Your daddy spoils me so, and I know when you get here he will spoil you too.

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We spent the rest of the day celebrating with both of your grandmothers, who also can’t wait to meet you. In fact, there are a lot of people counting down until the day they get to meet you. But of all of them, your daddy and I are the most excited. Sixty days left until your due date (July 12). The question is… will we see you before that, or will you make us wait? Honestly, baby girl, whenever you choose to come will be a huge celebration.

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Wrenn Olivia – you are loved. You are treasured. You are an answer to prayers. I can’t wait to meet you.

Love, your mama

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Thanks to all my blog friends who left me such encouragement on my last post. It meant so much to me. All of these pictures are courtesy of McGowan Images. To see our entire maternity session, click here.

by Bethe

Confessions of a third trimester

I’ll have to admit, all of the comments and attention focused on the size of my bump started to get to me last week.

Today’s comment was: “I can tell you’re having a girl because the shape of your face has changed.” I can only assume that means it’s, err, filling out? Awesome.

Actually, the comments have bothered me from the beginning – one thing I have learned from pregnancy is that you can’t really help how you carry the baby. Some girls carry high, some carry low. Some carry only out in front, others wear their baby like an inner tube (hello, back fat – we are not friends). Some girls puff up all over, others look like they swallowed a tic tac until month 7. And you know what – none of them has any control over it. You just get what you get.

To every pregnant girl who has gone before me, whom I have secretly judged, I am SO SORRY.

So after a dozen too many “Oh my gosh, you’re HUGE!” comments, along with some unflattering photos (I’ve learned my lesson – no more pics taken from the front – you will get nothing but profile shots of me between now and when the baby is 7), those insecurities in my head got really loud. Couple that with the date on my calendar that started creeping closer – maternity pictures! Aaaack! What was I thinking? I panicked.

Since I’m good friends with our photographers, I emailed her and told her that if I didn’t love her and trust that she could work magic with ANYTHING, then I would have cancelled already. She responded with encouragement – told me to go buy some new clothes that I’d feel cute in, take some deep breaths, and loosen up. And that’s what I did.

Nobody needs to know about the hour I spent in the dressing room at Destination Maternity at our local mall, trying on item after item with disgust (maternity clothes are NOT cute). Nobody needs to know that the whole time sweet baby girl was dive-bombing my bladder to the point I wasn’t sure I’d make it back to my car. Nobody needs to know that when I went to try on sandals I realized I couldn’t reach the buckle and so I just gave up trying (I was wearing a knee-length skirt – I could have reached it, but it would NOT have been lady like).

Because two days later we went and took our pictures and had a blast. Those insecurities melted away as Mr. Right snuggled against me and told me how beautiful he thought I looked, and as my photographer friends showed me sneak peeks in their camera that proved that at the right angle, I’m rocking it.

(For my records – I was 30 weeks when these pics were taken. Photo courtesy of McGowan Images.)

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I get to see the rest of the pics tomorrow. In the meantime, I’m continuing to battle and pray my way through those silly insecurities about my body, which to be honest I’ve had both pregnant and non-pregnant, because it’s one of those traits I don’t want to pass along to my little girl.

My sweet friends, what has helped you overcome those body insecurities? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

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In case you missed it, my guest post, Top 10 Crazy Things People Say to Pregnant Women, is available over on my work blog.

by Bethe

Wrenn’s Baby Quilt

I got started on Wrenn girl’s baby quilt over the weekend. I was able to get the whole thing cut out and a design created, and then I ran out of steam and needed a nap. But at least it’s a start! 10.5 weeks to go ’til she gets here and I need it done.

Of course I went with chevron, because it’s my favorite. And honestly, because that’s what this fabric called for. I tried a few other options, but this was just too pretty not to stick with this tried and true friend of a pattern.

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Don’t forget, I have another little chevron quilt available in the shop.

by Bethe

Cute as a Button Baby Shower

My blog is acting funny – I posted this earlier this week, but for some reason you couldn’t click on the link or comment… so I’m posting it again. Sorry to my email subscribers who are probably tired of seeing this – thanks for your patience!

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Last weekend my sisters and mom hosted a “cute as a button” baby shower for little Wrenn. And let me tell you, they gave Martha Stewart a run for her money – I’ve never seen such cute decorations!

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They used antique family quilts, along with sewing supplies, as decorations. It was the absolute perfect theme for me.

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This hand-made bunting will be making another appearance in her nursery soon. Thanks Aunt Sarah!

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A photo with my mom and two sisters – such amazing hostesses!

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Mr. Right made an appearance at the end… such a cutie. And for the record – I didn’t realize how big that baby belly of mine had gotten until I saw this picture – WOWZERS!

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My mother-in-law and Mr. Right’s aunt…

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A dear sorority sister from Baylor…

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Thanks to everyone who came out to bless little Wrenn Olivia!

by Bethe

Chevron Baby Stroller Quilt

I know I’ve told several people I wouldn’t be making any more baby quilts for the time being (except for Wrenn girl’s quilt, which I started on Saturday), but a few weeks ago I had a burst of energy and some leftover scraps from my mom’s mullet quilt. And so I whipped up this little guy in just a few hours.
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It’s a 29 inch x 29 inch stroller or car seat quilt – no batting so that it’s nice and thin and folds up to fit in your baby bag

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And of course, since gray and yellow are some of my very favorite colors, I had to go with the yellow backing. I just love all of these fabrics together – modern and sleek but also playful.

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This beautiful little quilt is available in the shop now – I hope she finds a good home! And, unless I get another wild hair, this will probably be the last baby quilt in the shop until after baby girl gets here. Probably.

by Bethe

Look at us, we started the nursery!

Folks, we have a nursery! After a few months of putting it off, then brainstorming, then putting it off some more, we finally cleaned out Mr. Right’s office/guest room (what a great guy), taped everything off, and got the thing painted, all in 24 hours.

A special thanks to my awesome sister who came over and painted the nursery for us! Talk about a servant’s heart. She knew that my doctor said no painting for me, and Mr. Right is crazy swamped with finals (oh, how we’re all counting down the minutes until grad school is OVER), so she just decided to do it for us. It was such a blessing.

You should have seen Mr. Right and I prepping the night before she came to get the room ready. I was in my work dress (because dresses are so much more comfortable than anything else right now), on my hands and knees taping off the baseboards while Mr. Right was on a ladder caulking holes and removing blinds. I’m not very graceful under typical circumstances, but I’m like a clumsy beast at this point, so I’m sure the neighbors got an eye full through our blind-less windows at 9:30 at night. And I’m just pregnant enough to not really care.

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The next morning Mr. Right assembled our crib, and suddenly the room felt like a nursery. He has since moved in other furniture (an armoire for storage and a dresser that we’ll use as a changing table – pics to come), and slowly but surely we’re moving closer to being baby-ready.

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The nursery will be mostly neutrals – grays and whites – with pops of color in our accents. This fabric, which is part of the quilt I’m making for her, is the inspiration for those pops of color – lot’s of tangerine-oranges, turquoises, and a few other random colors here and there.

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And here’s the rest of the fabric for her quilt. We’ll be using the leftovers for pillows, possibly a bedskirt, etc. You know, whatever I get inspired to sew. Don’t be surprised if you don’t find some leftovers in my Etsy shop in the form of baby quilts or pillows.

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And, finally, we’re thinking about using this picture for above the crib. Mr. Right and I have a real love for internationals (especially our ESL students!), and we also love to travel, so we think this is the perfect picture to go above our tiny sleeping baby. Plus, it reminds me of a quilt.

Stay tuned for more pictures as we make progress on the nursery. I’m 29 weeks along, so not too much longer until she’s here with us napping in this very room!

by Bethe

The Pregnant Girl Patchwork Quilt

Have I mentioned that I’m feeling better? To all of you dear friends and readers who have prayed for me and encouraged me through SIX LONG MONTHS OF ROUND THE CLOCK MORNING SICKNESS (bleh), I am pleased to announce that I have been (almost) completely nausea free FOR FOUR WHOLE WEEKS!

This is me doing a happy dance. Which is actually pretty disturbing considering the giant belly bouncing around.

So anyway, now that I’m feeling like a normal person these days (a ginormous normal person with a bowling ball sitting on her lap and a baby whose favorite position is bear hugging her bladder), I have been back to doing things I love. Like quilting. And eating. Lot’s and lot’s of eating, to the shagrin of my OB who all but wagged her finger when she saw that the scale reflected my newfound love of food (did you know food actually TASTES GOOD? I had forgotten.).

But enough of this rambling… I have quilt pictures to share. So back to the point, now that I’m feeling better I was able to reunite with my beloved sewing machine and whip out a new quilt top – not for any specific purpose other than it made me happy and I’ve been hankering to try this pattern.

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This is called a 9-patch pattern – if you look closely, you can see that even though all the scraps run together, they’re sewn into blocks of nine, and then those blocks are combined to make bigger blocks. I used a moda jelly roll so cutting the squares was super fast (you can also do this pattern by sewing strips and then cutting them, but I was feeling all organic and wanted to do the entire thing from scratch).

This is the perfect pregnant girl quilt pattern, because there IS no pattern. I wanted the overall look to be scrappy and cluttered looking – there’s something comforting in the craziness and unpredictability. Plus, since there’s no pattern, there wasn’t a lot of that obligatory getting up and down off the floor to lay out my pattern over and over as I sew. The only time I laid it out was at the very beginning to figure out how many patches I needed, and at the very end to pin on the border.

9patch2 I love this picture because you can see my new view as Wrenn girl grows.9patch1And there’s the final version. It still needs to be quilted, but since it’s for me, it’s going to have to wait until after sweet Wrenn’s quilt is finished. Which I have 11 weeks left to complete (assuming she’s on time). Oh my word, where has the time gone?

Stay tuned for more on her quilt – and her nursery – this week. And pics of our first baby shower. And baby bump pics. It’s going to be a busy week.

by Bethe

Let your light shine

Mr. Right has been out of town the past few days pretending to be a cowboy with his dad and brother and a few hundred other guys. You know, trail rides and chuck wagon cooking and cowboy hat wearing… the whole bit. I’m so glad he comes home today because I can’t wait to hear all about it.

But I had my own fun while he was gone – snuggling a friend’s new baby, getting a pedicure, catching up on quilting, hanging out with the girls in his family, and designing a few new prints for my spring collection.

Here’s the latest. I was going for a bit of a retro revival vibe.

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Click here to see the listing in my shop

I was just praying this morning that our little girl would be a light for Jesus. What better way to spend a life, am I right?

by Bethe

New spring prints and a sale

It’s spring, and a new season filled with so many new possibilities. To me, spring is clean and fresh and warm. It means denim jackets over long maxi dresses and bare toes. It means snow cones and open windows with curtains blowing in the breeze. It means the smell of freshly cut grass and the start of a new garden. It means twinkle lights on my back porch as I take a moment to rest.

And it means it’s time for some new prints. I decided to capture two of my favorite verses, because these prints are as much for me as they are for others. I was feeling whimsical and light, and I hope it comes across in these prints. And I hope they can be a reminder to me to be still and know that He is God… that He is in control. And to do things wrapped in love – whether it’s the way I speak to my husband or teach my ESL class or interact with friends. May others see love in the way I treat them.

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Print available here

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Print available here

Also – it’s time to clear out some of my older prints, so I have discounted them 33%. You can check all of them out here.

Now excuse me while I go grab a bowl of ice cream, which is also an important spring activity.